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Mad [review]

[Synopsis]

‘There’s something you should know before we go any further: my heart is in the wrong place. Now don’t say I didn’t warn you . . .’

Perhaps that’s why nothing in Alvie’s life has ever gone right? Until now.

She can finally abandon her credit card debt – and her fruitless three-way relationship with Tinder and Twitter – when fate gives her the chance to steal her identical twin’s perfect life.

It’s just a shame Beth had to die to make Alvie’s dreams come true.

So begin seven days of sex, violence and unapologetic selfies – one wild week that sees Alvie break every rule in the book. She never did have much respect for boundaries.

It might be madness, but rules are meant to be broken. Right?

[My Review]

I absolutely loved this book. I’m going to try and avoid saying ‘mad’ too many times, but for want of a better word that really sums up this novel. It IS mad. It’s also very funny, entertaining, fast paced and completely crazy.

Main character Alvie is actually a pretty awful person. You know she is, she knows she is, but she’s just so unapologetic. She’s selfish, mean and no doubt very annoying to spend any time with, but reading about her escapades and don’t-care attitude was really fun. She’s also very crude which only added to the hilarity, in my opinion.

The story is fast-paced and easy to read; I rocketed through it in no time at all. There are plenty of ridiculous moments and of course it’s all very far-fetched, but I guess that’s kind of the point. I loved that Alvie a British character but also that much of the story was set in atmospheric, gorgeous Italy. Some of the story is quite clever, too, and there were many parts I didn’t see coming.

If you fancy a fun rollercoaster of a summer read with a main character you love to hate (in this respect it reminded me of SweetPea, another novel I loved – read my review here) then this is a great option. I will definitely be reading the other two in the trilogy!

[Rating: 5/5]

Many thanks to the Netgalley and Michael Joseph for providing an advance reader copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.